Lesson video

Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher today guiding you through the entirety of the lesson.

Right, let's get started.

Over the next few lessons, we will be thinking about our big inquiry question.

How did Norman government impact England? This is the question we will use to investigate the nature of Norman England.

After the Normans had successfully conquered England, it still remained uncertain how the defeated Anglo-Saxons and their Norman conquerors would coexist in the same nation or state.

What would be the nature of an Anglo-Norman state? How would William rule England? What would he change? What would he keep the same? The mediaeval church was a very powerful institution.

Would William keep the Anglo-Saxon bishops in charge of the English church? By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain reasons for Norman reforms of the English Church.

Before we begin, there are a few key words we need to understand.

Normalisation is the process of making something more similar to or typical of Norman styles, beliefs, customs, et cetera.

Reform is when you make changes to improve something.

Simony is the buying or selling of advantages or paid positions in the Christian Church, which was considered to be a sin.

Pluralism is the practise of holding more than one religious office at the same time.

Today's lesson is split up into two parts.

We'll first look at the Anglo-Saxon Church before looking at the Norman reforms of the church.

So let's start the lesson by building our understanding of what the Anglo-Saxon Church was before the Norman Conquest.

The Norman Conquest of England offers an opportunity for historians to study the process of change in continuity.

After the conquest, the English Church underwent a process of Normanization.

If you have a look at the photo on the left, it's a photo of an Anglo-Saxon church.

They were typically smaller and more simple in design than the Norman churches.

Although some aspects of the church remained the same, most Anglo-Saxon influence was squeezed out.

By 1088, there was only one Anglo-Saxon bishop left in office.

William was keen to have influence over the English Church.

The church was a powerful and wealthy institution.

It owned up to a third of the land in England, commanding thousands of soldiers.

Some Anglo-Saxon archbishops and bishops could be as powerful as earls.

Have a look at the hierarchy diagram on the left.

We can see how powerful the high ranking members of the church would've been, given that they could be as powerful as earls.

Therefore, William was very keen to have influence over the English Church.

Another reason he would want a close relationship with the church was that if everyone believed that the king had the blessing of God and the church, this would confirm that they were a holy and rightful ruler.

Have a look at the image on the left.

It's a mediaeval mosaic and we can see King William II of Sicily in the bottom left.

He's receiving the crown from the hands of Jesus Christ.

So this mosaic is trying to project the message that God has chosen William II of Sicily to be king.

So we can imagine how powerful of a message this would've been during mediaeval times.

A monarch would make sure the church had all it needed, and in return the church would tell their congregations or write in their manuscripts how great the monarch was.

And of course, the people in mediaeval times were very religious and relied on the church for guidance.

Religion was an important part of mediaeval lives.

As far as we can tell, almost everyone believed in God and depended on the church for guidance so that their soul might go to heaven.

The church provided religious services such as baptisms, marriages, and funerals.

And if people took part in these services and followed the teachings of the church, they were promised an eventual reward of paradise in heaven.

Those who did not were warned about an eternity of punishments in hell.

So the church's influence on people was very significant, and therefore the church could help William to justify Norman control across England.

William was a supporter of the church reforms which had spread through Europe in the 11th century.

The Normans claimed that the English Church had not adopted these reforms. English churches often focused on traditional Anglo-Saxon and Celtic saints.

Have a look at the image on the left.

It's a painting of a monk healing a youth with hairs from Saint Cuthbert's head.

This is important because Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon saint who became very popular across England.

The Normans disapproved of the worship of these local saints, favouring the saints from Europe or from the Bible.

Other differences included the fact that English priests were usually ordinary members of the community.

They had small landholdings like peasants and lived a married life.

Again, this was contrary to the latest European reforms which wanted to separate spiritual religious lives from ordinary concerns such as money and sex.

For example, the reforms required priests to stay celibate, unmarried with no sexual relations.

In 1070, Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was removed and imprisoned, accused of simony and pluralism.

By 1070, William had spent four years removing the English leaders of resistance and plundering the riches of the English Church.

He now turned his attention to removing the leaders of the English Church who may also represent a threat to his rule.

Stigand had been in the service of the English Church since 1020 and had served six successive kings of England.

He held vast lands and commanded over 1000 Anglo-Saxon thanes.

Perhaps most importantly for William, Stigand was a close advisor to Harold Godwinson.

The Godwins made him Archbishop of Canterbury in 1052 after Edward the Confessor's Norman advisors had fled England.

And we can see Stigand depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry on the left.

However, if William wanted to remove Stigand, he would need the Pope's permission.

Now, the Pope had already supported the Norman invasion of England as William had convinced him that the English Church lacked religious order and discipline.

Stigand stood accused of simony and pluralism, yet continued to serve as both Bishop of Winchester and Archbishop of Canterbury.

And so in 1070 at the Council of Winchester, the Pope's representatives immediately agreed for Stigand to be removed and imprisoned.

Stigand died in prison two years later.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which term describes the act of holding more than one position within the church? A, nepotism, B, pluralism, C, simony? Pause the video, have a think, and come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew that it was pluralism, which describes the act of holding more than one position within the church.

Why was William keen to have control over the English Church? Select two correct answers.

A, the church leadership was potentially a threat.

B, to improve the church's financial stability.

C, to promote Anglo-Saxon saints.

D, to spread Norman control in England.

Pause the video, select your two correct answers and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew that it was A, the church leadership was potentially a threat to William, and D, William wanted to spread Norman control in England through the powerful institution of the church.

Okay, let's move on to Task A.

What I want you to do here is explain why William wanted to control the English Church.

So you don't need to write this out in an extended piece of writing, like in a paragraph.

I just want you to list your reasons of why William wanted to control the English Church.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So your list might look slightly different from mine, but hopefully you should have covered some of the points I have here.

So firstly, William would benefit from the powers of the English Church, which held vast wealth and thousands of soldiers.

So this is one reason why William would want to control the English Church.

A second reason could be religion was an important part of mediaeval lives.

The church would tell their congregations that William was chosen by God to be England's monarch, which would strengthen his control over England.

Also, William wanted to reform the church so that the clergy steered away from worldly non-religious life.

So in that example, we can see that William is not just cynically trying to control the church so that he can control England.

He may have some genuine religious reforms that he wants to make to the English Church.

And finally, William imprisoned Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, for corruption, but also because he presented a threat to his rule.

William had already dealt with a lot of Anglo-Saxon resistance, and some of the leaders may have had connections with that resistance or could offer a potential future rebellion against William's rule.

Okay, that's excellent.

So we now understand the context of the Anglo-Saxon Church as it was before the Norman Conquest and some of the reasons why William may want to take control of this powerful institution and the reforms he may wish to make.

So now let's move on to the second part of the lesson where we can take a closer look at the Norman reforms of the church.

So Stigand's imprisonment was only the beginning of William's reforms of the English Church.

William went on to remove many Anglo-Saxon bishops and abbots.

Their positions were replaced by Normans, and William claimed these changes were because the English Church was corrupt, in moral decline, and needed reform.

However, it is likely he saw the church leadership as a threat to his rule.

Whilst Norman church leaders would help him to control England.

By 1088, there was only one Anglo-Saxon bishop left in office.

In August 1070, William appointed Lanfranc as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Lanfranc was a respected scholar from Italy who spiritually mentored the young Duke William and had also tutored Pope Alexander II.

Lanfranc was also at the centre of a movement pushing stricter religious reforms across Europe.

So we can see then that William had deliberately selected a very influential person to him and who was also influential within Europe and within the church with connections to the Pope.

Once Lanfranc became Archbishop of Canterbury, he introduced many reforms in England, including the introduction of church courts.

Lanfranc gave special church courts the power to deal with blasphemy.

This is when someone says or does something that shows disrespect to God or religion.

The courts also dealt with adultery.

This is sex between a married man or woman and someone he or she is not married to.

And these courts also dealt with simony and pluralism.

These crimes were previously dealt with in secular or non-religious courts.

However, Lanfranc viewed these as spiritual crimes, which the church should deal with.

Another reform Lanfranc introduced was that new priests were banned from marrying.

However, Lanfranc did allow the priests that were already married to remain married.

And Lanfranc also began a programme of church-building.

New cathedrals, abbeys, and churches were built in the new Romanesque style that was fashionable in Western Europe.

As with castles, they represented an architectural revolution that dominated the landscape.

60 years later, 190 monasteries had been built, and that's an increase of 75%.

And bishops were also transferred from villages to cities.

So this positioned them closer to larger congregations.

But however, security was also a consideration.

Cities were a safer place for Norman bishops as they usually had castles.

Another reform was that Anglo-Saxon saints were removed.

Anglo-Saxon Memorial or Feast holidays were removed from the calendar and some saints had their shrines removed.

Saintly bones and relics were often destroyed or burned to ashes.

And this would have caused great offence amongst the English.

However, Lanfranc argued that people should be more devoted to Christ rather than distracted by local saints.

Another reform was that the official language of the church was changed to Latin.

Lanfranc ordered that all royal documents originally written in English by the clergy should instead be written in Latin.

This is the language of Rome.

Latin had become a common language of administration, communication, and scholarship as it was the official language of the Roman Empire and the Catholic Church.

However, many English priests did not speak Latin and ordinary people could not understand what was being said in church services.

And finally, Lanfranc also changed parts of the church service.

For example, Gregorian chants were replaced with Norman versions.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Select two correct reforms of the English church made by Lanfranc.

A, bishops were transferred to cities.

B, priests were allowed to get married.

C, programme of church-building.

D, the use of old English in documents.

Pause the video, select your two correct reforms, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was A, bishops were transferred to cities where they could be closer to larger congregations and then they could be safer.

And C, programme of church-building built in the Romanesque style that was fashionable across Western Europe.

How did Lanfranc aim to stop corruption in the English Church? A, allowing priests to marry.

B, establishing church courts for spiritual crimes.

C, moving bishops to cities.

Pause the video, have a think and come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew it was B, establishing church courts for spiritual crimes.

These crimes could be blasphemy, adultery, simony, pluralism, for example.

Okay, let's move on to Task B.

What I want you to do here is study the three statements below about reforms to the English Church.

Support each statement by providing additional information.

So the three statements I've given you are, Lanfranc empowered special church courts to deal with.

So I'm looking for some supporting information to explain what those special courts did.

The next statement is Anglo-Saxon saints were removed, for example.

Again, I want some additional information to describe what's happened with those Anglo-Saxon saints.

And then finally, royal and religious documents were.

And again, some additional information to describe what reform took place with regards to royal and religious documents.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and come right back.

Okay, excellent.

Well done having a go at that task.

Let's have a look at some of the answers you could have got.

Your answers may differ slightly from what I have here.

So for the first statement, Lanfranc empowered special church courts to deal with.

And then the supporting information was spiritual crimes such as blasphemy, adultery, simony, and pluralism.

Next statement was Anglo-Saxon saints were removed, for example, saintly bones and relics were often destroyed or burned to ashes.

And the next statement was royal and religious documents were originally written in English, but were now written in Latin, the language of Rome.

Okay, let's move on to the second part of Task B.

And let's read this statement.

The main reason for the Normanization of the English Church was because William wanted more control.

What I want you to do is write a paragraph which disagrees with the statement above.

So we definitely could write an argument which agrees with this statement in which William wanted more control of the English Church, and this is why he is Normanizing it.

However, I want you to write a paragraph which disagrees with the statement and argue that there is another reason for why William is Normanizing the English Church.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So check your answer with what I have here.

Of course, your paragraph might look slightly different from mine.

So Normanization of the English Church also took place in order to prevent church corruption.

William and Lanfranc claimed the English Church was corrupt, in moral decline, and in need of reform, following the example of the church in Normandy.

Lanfranc empowered special courts to deal with spiritual crimes such as blasphemy, adultery, and simony, the selling of church positions by bishops and archbishops to friends or family to increase their influence and wealth.

Furthermore, Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was imprisoned for pluralism, holding more than one church post at a time.

By Normanizing the church, Lanfranc ensured that religious leaders were spiritually pure and disciplined with greater separation from non-religious life and more devotion to God.

And I really want you to take note of the detailed information that's in that paragraph.

And you can see example after example or evidence after evidence is put forward to thoroughly explain why I've disagreed with the statements.

Each piece of evidence has been marshalled to explain the church corruption, and the Normans' claim of what's happening in the English Church.

And the reason for this persistent focus on relevant evidence to back up the points of church corruption is because that's what makes a compelling argument, a compelling paragraph, which successfully disagrees with the statement.

Okay, excellent.

Let's summarise today's lesson.

William claimed the English Church was corrupt, in moral decline, and needed reform.

However, his actions were also influenced by the English Church being a very wealthy institution whose powerful leaders could pose a threat to William's rule.

William imprisoned Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, for simony and pluralism.

And by 1088 there was only one Anglo-Saxon bishop left in office.

William appointed Lanfranc as Archbishop of Canterbury, whose reforms Normanized the English Church.

Well done on a brilliant lesson.

And thank you for joining me for our study into the nature of Norman England.

Hope you've learned a lot about the change and continuity in the Anglo-Norman Church and I will see you next time when we continue our inquiry.

See you in the next lesson.